Sovereignty In Iraq

Nobody would claim that Iraq is a peaceable kingdom. But the Western media are obsessed with bombs and bullets. Meantime, at least 37 municipalities have held peaceable elections. Not one has elected a former Baathist. Hard-line Islamist groups have drawn fewer votes than the Green Party did in Canada.

In one town I visited last fall, they held the election in the school. They wrote all the candidates' names on a big chalkboard for everyone to see. The ballot box was made of glass. Everybody put their ballots into the box, then watched as they were taken out and tallied on the chalkboard until the box was empty. Three hundred people voted, and at the end, they cheered.

Today, perhaps as you read this, Saddam Hussein is being arraigned before an Iraqi judge. This summer, the new Iraqi soccer team will salute the new Iraqi flag at the Olympics. (In London, the team beat a team of anti-war British MPs in a friendly game, 15-0.) National elections will be held within months. Throughout the country, people are gathering in tribal councils, mosques and clubs to discuss their political future.

Don't bother telling any of this to Michael Moore, or his legions of smart fans. They don't want to know. It would spoil their fun.

How heartless can you be by wanting the Iraqi people to fail? Are a few political points worth it? Mr. Moore...?